Samsung serves up 'seamless experience'

Samsung wowed attendees at the official opening keynote at IFA 2008 today with a slew of new product announcements.

The presentation by Jong Woo Park, president of Samsung's digital media business was focused on offering us a 'seamless experience', promising to make Samsung gadgets easier to use, while also offer better integration between devices

Park also talked up new technologies, with the company showing off an ultra high definition TV and the world's largest OLED TV with a 31-inch display.

New seamless tellies

One of the most obvious examples of the seamless experience is a new user interface in Samsung's 7, 8 and 9 series TVs. It combines regular TV viewing with the ability to access internet content using Mac-like widgets (or gadgets in Vista parlance).

Dubbed InfoLive the widgets offer the usual info like updated news and weather reports. It also includes its own database - like a kind of mini-encyclopaedia - containing content for every member of your family from games to recipes and yoga programs.

Samsung's 7, 8, and 9 series TVs also include WiseLink Pro, which works via a USB 2.0 connection.

It enables you to access content on plugged-in devices such as digital cameras and camcorders via a newly designed remote control. The TVs also include HDMI-CEC, enabling you control compatible devices via HDMI connections.

Other highlights of the Samsung keynote included news of a new 200Hz TV to rival Sony's , a 1-inch thin ultra-slim display and a 2,840 x 2,160 ultra high definition 82-inch TV... which is also on display on Samsung's stand here at IFA. We'll be taking a closer look at all of these this afternoon.